PhD defense Meimei Wang: Institutional development and change in the management of the Grand Canal, 1700-1850
Meimei Wang (research assistant of Bas van Leeuwen) succesfully presented a case study on the institutions related to the management of the canal in Yangzhou during the period 1700–1850. The main question addressed by this thesis is why the institutions that managed the canal were initially successful but proved to be ineffective in the long term.